Chapter 8

• Adeline's POV
• The silence settled between us, the sound of the rain hitting the car windows only made me want to shrink in my seat. I couldn't face my driver; he was too charming and I was too drunk. I didn't want to use him for my own personal pleasures even though, at that point, I knew I could. I took a deep breath, remembering that the reason he was after me wasn't because of the magazine drama I put him through. I didn't feel sorry for him, I needed the money, he was a noble among us, a young lord, obviously, life was easy for him. I caught myself irresistibly studying his features. He was tall, with a lean body that I once wrapped my legs around but couldn't remember. My imagination tried to knit back the memories from that night. Did I touch his fair, chiselled jawline? Did I press my lips against his soft pink ones? Did his blue eyes get lost in my drunk, sleepy eyes? Did he tighten his grip around my waist? Did he?...
• "So, is this the address?"
• He looked at me, staring at my lips as I shook my ability to let out a response. I agreed, ready to open the door and step out. "You can't just leave like that, won't you wait for the rain to die down?" he said, his hand holding my wrist before the other could push the door open. He leaned in, closer, his hot breath warming my cold face. He placed his hand on my cheek and gave it a gentle rub, my heart was racing, and my palms were getting hot. My eyes couldn't stay wide because of the alcohol I had taken. I shut them so I could snap out of the trance but... before I could move fast, Ethan moved faster. He gently placed his lips onto mine. The slow movement made me crave more and more until he finally pulled away, leaving me breathless. His eyes flicked around the car before they locked onto mine once again.
• "Why did you do that?" I asked, still breathing heavily from the kiss. The heat spread throughout my body, and I felt all tingly and weirdly giddy. "Do what? kiss you? Or stop?" He smiled, I didn't respond, and my hands started to move along his chest. I could hear myself begging them to stop. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him to come between my legs. I was wild, like a fox that didn't know she was thirsty till she tasted the water.
• "We shouldn't be doing this..." I didn't want to, but I couldn't help myself. His fingers danced between my legs, fueling these emotions. I held his belt buckle, begging him in silence to show me what I missed. "You really want this?" He moaned, looking into my eyes with longing. "It's okay. We have a few minutes, and you can do whatever you want," my mind told me the same thing, making me more restless than ever. His lips were on mine again, kissing my swollen mouth. My tongue was already inside, tasting him as if it was our first kiss all over again. "Please." My voice was muffled by his lips. His hands were on my hips, bringing me closer.
• "We can't... I'm sorry."
• My heart shattered, being rejected by someone I wasn't even in love with. I was ashamed and embarrassed. I did it again, just like how I did it the first time, I threw myself at a guy who was in a position I despised. For how long were these politicians going to continue to torment me? My vision went blurry, I could feel my rage starting to build up. This man had me. He didn't deserve to see the emotions I was feeling. I tightened my lips, and the moment the silence settled between us, I pushed the door open and sprung out of my seat. He tried to stop me by reminding me of the rain that fell upon me. I wasn't afraid of getting a little wet after what had just happened. "You owe me nothing. Thanks for the ride." I shut the door and made my way to my apartment.
• There was no doubt that I should have taken a taxi home, but I couldn't bring myself to do so when I had the opportunity to get some fresh air. The wind blew against me, causing the drops of water from my hair and clothes to fall in front of my eyes. I placed my clutch above my head, shielding my face from the worst of the cold winds. I walked as fast as possible, not wanting to waste another second of my precious time. I didn't want to be there when the guy left. I slammed my front door, not knowing how to feel about what just happened was frustrating. I sat on the floor, wondering why I started all this in the first place, this hunt for the secrets that these people hide from the cameras.
• Of course, I promised myself that I would never forget the struggle that my father had to go through to defend our hometown against the ridiculous laws of the politicians that our resources couldn't keep up with; the increase in taxes, paying high rent for the shops we already own, privatizing water and criminalizing food-sharing activities. We were in a small town with a high population but few of us were extremely well-to-do, most of us were black... yes, black and born in England, there were whispers about us as they said that even when we were young, we weren't exactly purebreds.
• It was the same reason why we didn't have enough to afford a home of our own; no matter how much your family has owned and used the land, it doesn't amount to anything if you're still not a part of the land. At least that's what people thought. My father had to prove his loyalty. He loved the town, and he fought alongside others, men from different races, just to restore peace amongst the people of Linsdon.
• He worked in the big city and invested his money in building a business for his family because he grew fond of his hometown, and he decided to settle there. He worked his way back into society after years of begging and trying his best to survive, working hard to provide for us all. My father's parents supported him, and he built a bakery that earned my mother enough money till today. Being an only child, I was inspired, he became my idol, and he fought. We were well-to-do for a while, and our bread was so fresh that the bakery made a name for itself in the big Wadhurt city. After so many years of peace, the government started to demand that we pay twice as much as we used to for taxes. The laws kept on becoming unbearable the more we thought we were progressing. The town came together to fight it, to try and convince our mayor at the time to ignore the corruption and bribery from the sick politicians... Along with other leaders of the town, my father pushed the petition for certain laws to be dropped, and it started to seem like things were working out. That's when it happened...
• A group of people came to our door that night with the tragic news of the death of my father, who had died in an accident on the way to Wadhurt. It didn't make sense to me; I saw my mother cursing the world. The city had mercy on us and they promised never to forget how Thomas Walsh united a city that was destined to be divided. My grandparents left Sussex long after, unable to bear the loss of a loved one. They left my mother enough money to get back on her feet, as well as a small wheat farm and a bakery. It's never enough for her. She prayed for justice until one day she closed the door on that idea and I still wondered why my father had to die, and what went wrong. What part of this story did I not revisit?
• The pain dissolved into my tears, I put my hands to my face and wiped away the salty water that flowed. I ran the bath water, warm enough to loosen my icy body… "Ethan… Ethan Coleman…" I chuckled as I heard his name come out of my mouth. I called Marilyn to tell her I was home and went to bed early. She sent me a video of her and Michael filming in a club. Michael was my best male friend. He was a 29-year-old psychologist who had helped me overcome a lot of stress. In fact, he helped me understand who I was growing up to be and why; I just wanted closure and justice. I sent a text asking them to have a nice evening and said I would see them the next day. It was a long day, something I didn't expect to happen. I didn't get an exclusive photo of cheating celebrity Birdman, but at least he got beat up a bit and I didn't get to steal a kiss.